Healthy Pumpkin Muffins (Dairy Free and Sugar Free)

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins / https://www.hwcmagazine.com

5 from 6 votes

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins (Dairy Free and Sugar Free)

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins are moist, delicately sweetened with date paste and a pumpkin spice aroma that is out of this world. Naturally refined sugar free and dairy free too!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 164kcal

Author: HWC Magazine

Equipment

muffin tin

Ingredients

Healthy Pumpkins Muffins with DATES

Spray oil to prevent muffins from sticking to muffin cup liners
2 cups All purpose flour
½ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking soda
½ teaspoon Baking powder
2 teaspoon cinnamon
ground
1 teaspoon Nutmeg ground
¼ teaspoon Clove ground
¾ cup Date paste (¾ cup seedless packed medjools dates with ½ cup hot water and pureed)
2 tablespoon Coconut oil
melted
2 Eggs
15 oz Pumpkin puree
plain (without spices and sugar)- 100% pure pumpkin in a can
¼ cup dates chopped - optional
12 Pecans
whole unsalted - optional

Substitution OPTIONS if you want to use dark Brown Sugar and Butter (ONLY Use as exchange for NOT using date paste)

¾ cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
packed (if you like your muffins sweet, then increase up to 1.5 cups brown sugar.)
Do NOT Add coconut oil or dates if using the brown sugar and butter method

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat over to 350 F or 176 degrees C. Prepare your muffin tins with muffin cup liners and spray each muffin liner with a little oil spray.
Make Date paste- Check our recipe for details https://www.hwcmagazine.com/recipe/how-to-make-date-paste/ . If you plan on using prepared date paste or brown sugar, you can skip this step.
Mix dry flour mixture: In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and mix well. Set aside.
In your mixer, add your date paste and melted coconut oil and mix together, will be clumped together but do not worry. Next add your eggs one at a time to the mixer and blend. Blend until the mixture is lighter in color and the dates are streaked through. Add your pumpkin puree and mix until blended.
Next add about ⅓ of the dry flour mixture at a time and mix on slow. Finish up with adding the rest of the flour mixture and add any adds ins as desired. We added in an additional ¼ cup chopped dates. You may wish to add raisins, goji berries, chocolate chips or whatever your little heart desires. Your batter will be very thick.
Spoon your healthy pumpkin muffins mixture into each of the prepared muffin cups. Smooth out a little bit with a butter knife. Press a pecan on top each of the muffins. Bake between 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy! (Store in a sealed container either at room temperature or in the refrigerator up to 3 Days, can freeze up to 3 months)

Notes

Chef Notes: If you do NOT want to use date paste, then simply replace the ¾ cups date paste with ¾ cup softened butter (1.5 sticks) and add 1 cup packed DARK brown sugar. Do not add the coconut oil. If you like your muffins more on the sweet side add 1.5 cups brown sugar instead of 1 cup sugar. 1 cup of sugar is not very sweet but we like to keep the sugar level down.

GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS: If you want to make these muffins gluten free then swap with gluten-free flour but please note they will be a little denser.

VEGAN OPTIONS: You can also make this recipe vegan by swapping out eggs with 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. This ratio is for 1 egg and this recipe requires 2 eggs, so you need to double that. Also, please note that this change of flax and water for the eggs will also make your muffins a little heavier.

BREAKFAST BREAD OPTION: If you want to make a bread loaf instead of individual muffins, this recipe will make 2 small loaves. You need to first spray your loaf pans with spray oil. Next spread your batter into the loaf pan and bake for 55 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

LOWER SUGAR OPTION: If you do not have date paste or do not want to use date paste, you can replace the date paste with 1.5 sticks of butter (¾ cup) and 1 cup packed dark brown sugar. Hold the coconut oil. You will first beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, and follow the rest of the recipe as written, except HOLD the coconut oil. These muffins are also just delicately sweet but are no longer dairy free.

Nutrition